Episode 9 recap: Zhao Tan Tan and Cui Chen went to the night market together.
During the first round of interviews at the Qionghua Gate, each person was required to tell a heartfelt and true story. Qiu Yue Bai was the first to speak and talked about how he had always been overshadowed by his older brother, no matter how hard he tried. The girl he liked was also taken by his brother, and he didn't even know if she knew that he liked her. The judges, seeing Qiu Yue Bai's identity as a wealthy businessman, praised his story. Cui Chen was the next to appear and told a story about a couple who had been in love for many years, only to find out the day before their wedding that everything about the girl was a lie. The judges thought the story was cliché and disliked it.
Zhao Tan Tan told her story about her long-time companion and their experiences bathing together. When the judges heard the mention of bathing together, their eyes immediately lit up. Cui Chen and Qiu Yue Bai, on the other hand, were shocked, as they had no idea about Zhao Tan Tan's experiences. However, in the end, the judges unanimously deemed the stories told by Zhao Tan Tan, Qiu Yue Bai, and Cui Chen as inadequate due to the lack of sufficient payment. This left the three of them feeling disappointed. Cui Chen and Qiu Yue Bai were particularly concerned about the authenticity of Zhao Tan Tan's story and quickly questioned her about it. Eventually, they discovered that the "companion" Zhao Tan Tan mentioned was actually a small dog, which relieved their worries.
Qionghua Gate's primary objective was to accumulate wealth. Lu Yi chased after Qiu Yue Bai, Cui Chen, and Zhao Tan Tan to inform them that they could participate in a revival match that would directly lead to the finals by paying a specified amount. Zhao Tan Tan refused to pay and rejected the offer immediately. However, Qiu Yue Bai believed it was feasible and accepted the invitation.
Zou Manqian hurriedly came to find Lu Yi, and Cui Chen, noticing the situation, secretly attached a eavesdropping talisman to Lu Yi's back. Through this, they learned that the Yinyuan Ding, a crucial artifact of Qionghua Gate, was damaged and there might be difficulties in holding the upcoming marriage meeting. Zhao Tan Tan secretly rejoiced that she didn't spend money to buy the passage card earlier, otherwise, she would have suffered a loss. Suddenly, the toad spirit appeared and upon learning about the damaged Yinyuan Ding, it took out a thousand-year Tanyi and told Zhao Tan Tan that the Tanyi could repair the artifact.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Tan Tan immediately went with Cui Chen and Qiu Yue Bai to find Zou Manqian. Zou Manqian didn't want Su Zhinan to know about the damaged Yinyuan Ding and listened to Qiu Yue Bai's fabricated and convoluted love story with Zhao Tan Tan. Cui Chen also chimed in, claiming that he and Zhao Tan Tan were destined for each other. Zou Manqian was immediately drawn into the melodramatic situation between the three, and upon learning that Zhao Tan Tan actually liked both Cui Chen and Qiu Yue Bai and didn't know whom to choose, she decided to use that as a selling point for next year's marriage meeting. She agreed to exchange the passage card for the Tanyi.
Lu Yi was concerned about the previous business discussion with Qiu Yue Bai, who did not respond to him. This time, he demanded a detailed business discussion with Qiu Yue Bai, threatening not to provide the passage card otherwise.
Qiu Yue Bai could only watch as Cui Chen took Zhao Tan Tan shopping while he stayed behind to discuss business. The toad spirit had long been eyeing a noodle shop in the market and was eager to try it. However, there were too many people in front of the shop. Zhao Tan Tan and Cui Chen pushed him forward, finally getting him to the front. Zhao Tan Tan wanted to try all the street food in the market, but she didn't have much money left. Cui Chen gave her all his money, and they shared a skewer of sugar-coated haws and a piece of stinky tofu. When Cui Chen wiped the sugar residue off Zhao Tan Tan's mouth, she felt a strange sensation and shyly lowered her head.
With the last bit of money, Zhao Tan Tan bought a piece of cake, emptying her money pouch. She regretted spending all her money and only getting partially full. Cui Chen used his magic to release a dazzling firework display in the sky. Seeing Zhao Tan Tan's joy, he became happy as well. He gave Zhao Tan Tan the magical robe he had made for her with toad silk, and they agreed to call it the "Precious Toad Robe."
With this robe, Zhao Tan Tan became invulnerable to weapons and fire. She happily spun around with the robe, and just then, Qiu Yue Bai arrived with a bowl of crab roe noodles he had specially bought for Zhao Tan Tan. Seeing Zhao Tan Tan happy with Cui Chen, he felt a sense of loss.
Cui Chen sensed the faint presence of lotus energy inside the Qionghua Gate and went to investigate with Zhao Tan Tan. She discovered that Hu Meng had become an emotional mentor in the Qionghua Gate and had earned a lot of money, even paying tribute to Lu Yi. Cui Chen immediately thought of a restricted area in the Qionghua Gate where no one was allowed to enter, suspecting it to be a treasure trove. He secretly followed Zou Manqian and discovered the location of the treasure vault.
Zou Manqian had feelings for Su Zhinan, the head of the Qionghua Gate, but it seemed that he was not interested in her. He didn't even notice the purse she had given him that fell into the treasure vault. Zhao Tan Tan learned from Hu Meng that Zou Manqian appeared strong but actually followed Su Zhinan's every order. She eavesdropped on a conversation between Zou Manqian and Su Zhinan and found out that the magical artifacts were indeed in Su Zhinan's possession.
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